passed car test 8/5/87
passed motorbike test 24/4/03

Vauxhall Chevette 1.3 3 door owned 5/87 - 5/88



My first car was a 2nd hand Vauxhall Chevette, purchased when I was 17 and owned for about a year.
As driving experiences go it wasn't bad. Good all round visibility, bags of room, just lacking a bit in style and finesse.
Biggest disappointment with this car was the lack of radio and that awful smell in the boot (what did the previous owners put in there ???)

Ford Fiesta 1.1 KHJ801V owned 5/88 - 5/90



I had this car for a fair few years and it nearly bankrupted me!!
Finally sold it and had a period of about a year without a car !?!?
Best feature was probably the radio.

Vauxhall Astra 1.3 C Reg owned 9/91 - 9/12/93

No Picture at the moment ...

This was an absolutely ace car given to me by my God Father. Five years old and 20,000 on the clock!
Written off by a company driver getting onto the A3 in Guildford, I still don't use Colgate Toothpaste to this day.

Ford Fiesta Focus 1.8 DL L678HJH owned 9/12/93 - 26/11/94 City Ford, Slough
bought £6724.14, sold £5800, depreciation £924.15


My first NEW car! Bought at generous discount due to my Dad being a Ford employee.

48.7 mpg simulated urban, max 94 mph, 0-60 mph 14.1 secs

Ford Fiesta Mistral 1.8 DL M199JPM owned 26/11/94 - 23/12/94 Crimble of Staines
bought £6960.64, commitment exchange


I traded in the Fiesta Focus for a Fiesta Mistral but was gutted to find the specification of the Fiesta Mistral was lower.
Exchanged within one month of purchase.

Ford Fiesta LX 1.8 DL 5 door M237JPM owned 23/12/94 - 27/11/94 Crimble of Staines
bought £7330.64, sold £3000, depreciation £4330.64


The dealer was NOT happy, but the LX was more what I had in mind, rear speakers and a cigarette adapter made all the difference!
Owned this car for nearly 4 years !?!?!

Ford Fiesta Quartz 1.8 DL N386JEX owned 13/02/96 - 27/11/98 John Grose Lowestoft
bought £6295.00, sold £3300, depreciation £2995


Another Fiesta Diesel, this time all the way from Lowestoft.
This car was bright red and even though I had it for nearly three years I can hardly remember it at all !?!

Ford Fiesta LX 1.8 DL S737XAN owned 27/11/98 - 18/09/01 Maidenhead Ford
bought £9140.74, sold £4800, depreciation £4240.76
Another Fiesta diesel.. a more subtle colour this time.


This car went to Ireland without me!

Then got ditched .....



and drove away!!!

Ford Mondeo Ghia Estate Auto RV51PYU owned 18/09/01 - 30/04/08 Maidenhead Ford
bought £17600, sold £2500, depreciation £15,100
Wanted something a bit 'safer'
This car has dual/stage driver's and front passenger's airbags, front seat side airbags, and side impact curtain airbags
Not tested them yet !



A seriously expensive car (could have bought two Fiesta Diesels for the money!).
Absolutely shocking fuel consumption, but quite nippy for the size and great for shopping (sofas and garden benches that is)
Total nightmare to clean .. the worst wheel trims ever.



This car has been to the Alps twice.

30.7 mpg combined, max 116 mph, 0-62 mph 11.8 secs

Honda Hornet CB600 Y159DWL owned 13/09/03 - 10/11/04
bought £3300, sold £3000, depreciation £300


This was it's normal position... even in the summer!
Lack of riding buddies ended my brief foray into motor biking.

Ford Sports KA SE 1.6 AO04WYU owned 19/04/04 - 5/03/05 John Grose Lowestoft
bought £7875, sold £7100, depreciation £775


My first new car for a long time.
This KA was seriously nippy, great for throwing round the bends and a dream to park. Just remember to take the Mondeo when doing the shopping!!!
Fuel consumption was a lot disappointing.

37.2 mpg combined, max 108 mph, 0-62 mph 9.7 secs

Ford Sports KA SE 1.6 AV05FGU owned 5/03/05 - 31/12/05 John Grose Ipswich
bought £7529, sold £6150, depreciation £1379


Traded the blue one in for a boring silver version.

37.2 mpg combined, max 108 mph, 0-62 mph 9.7 secs

Ford Fiesta Ghia TDCI 1.6 AV55YSL owned 31/12/05 - 31/10/06 John Grose Ipswich
bought £9566, sold £7450, depreciation £2116
Back to the Fiesta Diesel and haven't they improved !!!



60 mpg and a 500+ mile range, total bliss.

64.2 mpg combined, max 112 mph, 0-60 mph 11.2 secs

Ford Focus ST3 2.5 RE56RVJ owned 31/10/06 - 29/09/07 Evans Halshaw Slough/ Reg Vardy Reading
bought £16450, sold £15100, depreciation £1350
An orange beast !!!



A great car to drive, just don't get a puncture.
Everyone loves the colour and it's soo easy to find in a car park!

30.4 mpg combined, max 152 mph, 0-62 mph 6.8 secs

Ford Focus ST3 2.5 YR57TNJ owned 29/09/07 - 21/11/08 GK Group, Chesterfield
bought £17963, sold £12000, depreciation £5963 ouch!
Such a great car that I got another one !



Easily the best car I've had, really sad to see it go.

30.4 mpg combined, max 152 mph, 0-62 mph 6.8 secs

Ford Mondeo Titanium X 2.0 TDCI YP08SXZ owned 30/04/08 - to date GK Group, Chesterfield
bought £21420
Top Gear family car of 2007
Auto Express Car of the Year 2007



39.8 mpg combined, max 121, 0-69 mph 10.8 secs

Finally Ford make a diesel automatic.
Keyless entry, adaptive cruise control, tyre pressure monitoring system, parking sensors, automatic headlights, automatic windscreen wipers make this an easy car to drive.
4 inches wider than the older model it is surprisingly easy to park.

Ford Fiesta Titanium 1.6 TDCI AV58RXA owned 21/11/08 - 15/09/09 John Grose, Ipswich
bought £13284, sold £11425, depreciation £1859
Yet another Fiesta!



62 mpg combined, max 109, 0-62 mph 11.9 secs

The stealth mobile, well at least that's what it felt like compared to the ST.
Several nice features such as cruise control, automatic headlights, rain-sensing wipers, power starter button and power fold mirrors.
Never got anywhere near the recommended fuel consumption.

Vauxhall Astra Club Twinport 1.6 RK56WRT owned 17/03/21 - to date



46 mpg, max 112, 0-60 mph 12.8 secs

Very lucky to be given this car by Ant & Sarah, wow!